


Waiting for You Every Night (With Ticker Tape)

by winnix



Category: Dimension 20 (Web Series)
Genre: First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, M/M, oh my god they were roommates..........., sex dolls will be mentioned at one point but not in the way u expect
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-23
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:33:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28253220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/winnix/pseuds/winnix
Summary: “So it could just be…a friend?” Cody asks, a strange look on his face. Pete nods, furrowing his brow slightly.“Yeah, sure,” Pete says. Cody just keeps looking at him, that same look on his face, as if he’s holding out a weapon to Pete and expecting him to do something terrible with it. Then, it clicks. “Oh. You mean a friend like me.”Pete finds out Cody doesn't have a lot of romantic experience. He decides to step up and do what any good friend/mentor would. The results are...troubling.
Relationships: Pete the Plug/Cody "Night Angel" Walsh
Comments: 54
Kudos: 213





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> the second brennan made these guys roommates i literally had no choice but to make them fall in love
> 
> takes place immediately after "collaborators," will probably become canon divergent very quickly. this is gonna be a long one, so strap in y'all!
> 
> title from "i am easy to find" by the national 
> 
> find me on twitter @swiftiefabian <3

It’s snowing pretty hard when Pete gets back to Astoria that night, and by the time he arrives back to the house there’s already a decent dusting collecting on the ground. He’s definitely not wearing the right shoes for it, but Pete doesn’t even mind the walk from the subway. He _loves_ the city in the winter, especially when the snow is fresh and everything looks like the set of a Christmas movie.

“Hey Pete!” Nasir greets him when he gets home, his voice sounding from somewhere deeper in the house.

“Hey!” Pete calls back, shutting the front door firmly behind him and unwrapping the massive scarf from around his neck. “Where are you?”

“Kitchen!” Nasir calls back. Pete makes his way through the house. There’s something cooking and it smells _delicious_. 

“What is that smell?” Pete grins, poking his head into the kitchen. Nasir glances up from the stove, giving him a bashful smile. 

“Nothing special,” he says, placing a cover over the pot in front of him. “Just some stew. I had a bunch of vegetables I had to use before they went bad.”

“Respect for the home cooking, man,” Pete says, moving over to open the fridge. “I’ve been on such a street food kick lately, I feel like it’s been ages since I’ve even gone grocery shopping.”

“Honestly, we wouldn’t even have room if everyone bought their own groceries,” Nasir says, “we’re lucky Cody mostly buys Monsters.”

Pete opens the fridge and is greeted by an entire shelf full of the drink. He sighs, shutting the door once more. 

“Yeah, I suppose lucky is one word for it,” he says. At that moment, Cody enters, wearing a pair of black cargo pants and a sweatshirt with a large, gilded axe on the front. 

“Hey,” Cody greets, crowding close to Pete and opening the fridge. He grabs a Monster and pops it open. Pete rolls his eyes.

“Please tell me you’re gonna have something other than a Monster for dinner,” he says. 

“Shut up, you’re not my mom,” Cody smirks, heading over to the counter and lofting himself up to sit on it. 

“Cody, dude, what did I say about sitting on the counter?” Nasir asks. “It’s super unsanitary.”

“God, you are so lame,” Cody sneers. 

“C’mon, dude,” Pete says, “It’s the house rule, remember?” Cody looks at him, and Pete raises an eyebrow. Reluctantly, Cody slides off the counter. 

“Yeah, ok,” he says, “sorry, Nasir.”

“Uh, it’s cool,” Nasir says, sending a quick glance over at Pete. “Look, I’m almost done in here anyway.”

“No, do your thing, I was just grabbing this,” Cody murmurs, taking a sip of his Monster and heading back towards the doorway. 

“Hey, Cody?” Nasir calls. Cody turns around, clearly surprised. “I’ll definitely have some left-overs when I’m done with this, so you can help yourself. If you want something other than Monster, I mean.” 

“Ok,” Cody nods slowly, “thanks.”

“No problem,” Nasir offers a small smile. Cody stares at him for a moment and then turns around abruptly, leaving the room. Pete watches him go, unable to keep the grin off of his face.

“That was really nice of you,” he says to Nasir once he’s sure Cody is gone.

“Eh, it’s no big deal,” Nasir shrugs. “I mean…look, I know he’s not _actually_ a bad guy or whatever,” he looks up at Pete, a curious expression on his face, “but ever since you moved in he’s been a lot better.”

“What do you mean?” Pete asks. 

“I mean, before you got here he didn’t really get along with anyone other than Josh. He was kind of a pain in the ass, to be honest. But now I can tell he’s at least _trying_ to be a better roommate,” Nasir points a spoon at Pete, grinning. “You’re a good influence, man, I can tell.”

“I guess,” Pete shrugs, but he’s thrilled by the compliment. It wasn’t that long ago the _Pete_ was the shitty roommate, the irresponsible kid that no one understood. Now, he was the one helping Cody. It felt good, if he was being honest. Made him feel like he had his shit together in a way he never would’ve imagined a few years ago. “I’m gonna head up, so I’ll see you later. I’m totally beat from work.”

Nasir gives him a salute as Pete heads out of the room. All the way up to the attic, Pete can’t keep the smile off of his face.

A knock sounds at his door a few hours later. It’s late, probably close to midnight, but Pete hasn’t been able to sleep. He has a huge book open in front of him, some psychology textbook JJ had grabbed for him from the Columbia library forever ago. It’s almost too dark to read, though. Pete hates having his overhead light on, so right now the whole room is lit up in blues and purples from the galaxy lamp he’s placed beside his bed, casting fake stars up onto the ceiling. 

“Come in,” Pete says, looking up from the page and rubbing his eyes. Cody enters, pushing the door open slowly. He’s traded in his hoodie for a black tank top and his long hair is gathered in a bun at the back of his head. 

“Uh, are you busy?” He asks. Pete shakes his head, shutting the book.

“No, I was just reading,” Pete says, scooting over on the bed slightly and patting it, “come sit.”

Cody hesitates, but finally makes his way across the room, perching awkwardly on the side of Pete’s bed. 

“What’re you reading?” Cody asks after a moment. 

“Oh, just some book JJ recommended to me,” Pete says, drumming his fingers against the cover. “It’s all scientific shit about dreams. I thought…I don’t know, I thought it would help me figure out what’s going on with Nod, maybe.”

“What’d you mean?” Cody asks, angling himself towards Pete a bit more, so he has to bring one leg up on the bed.

“I mean, JJ was talking about that magic time particle that he found by studying physics, so I just thought I’d try a different approach to this whole deeper dreams problem. Though it’s not really helping much,” Pete chuckles, “I don’t think Freud knew anything about the Gray Orphan when he was conducting his experiments.”

“Wasn’t Freud the guy who thought everyone wanted to have sex with their mom?” Cody asks.

“Yeah, so I’m not sure how much of this shit is actually useful,” Pete says, chucking the book off his bed. It lands on the carpet in front of his bedside table with a dull thud. 

“Still, it’s cool that you’re doing _something_ ,” Cody says. “I’m kind of useless during this whole prep phase. Just gotta wait to get on the battlefield, I guess.”

“Look, I could always use your help,” Pete says, “even if it’s just reading about some gross mom-fucking theories.” 

Cody chuckles at that, which makes Pete smile. He remembers what Nasir said earlier, about him being a good influence. Maybe Cody is here for advice or something, though Pete can’t really imagine what he’d need help with, outside of Unsleeping City stuff. 

“What have you been up to tonight?” Pete asks. “Did you…need something?”

“No, it’s whatever,” Cody shrugs, suddenly appearing to be very interested in Pete’s floor. “I’m just bored, I guess. Normally Josh and I would hang out during the week but he’s been so busy with his girlfriend-”

“Josh has a girlfriend?” Pete asks, unable to ignore the small sneer that appears on Cody’s face at the word. 

“Yeah,” Cody sighs, the sneer vanishing just as quick as it appeared. “She’s actually pretty cool. She used to work at the Red Mango in the mall before it closed. Things have gotten way more serious between them lately, though, which is great and everything but-”

“Hey, I get it,” Pete says, placing what he hopes is a reassuring hand on Cody’s knee. “Look, it was super weird when Ricky started dating Esther, and then Kingston got back with Liz. It was like…I don’t know, it felt like all of a sudden no one was around to just hang out anymore.”

“Right?” Cody exclaims, turning fulling towards Pete, crossing his legs in front of him. “Like, all of a sudden your best friend is just not around ever. It sucks!”

“It does!” Pete agrees. “But, look, I’m sure Josh still wants to hang out with you. And besides, you’ll find someone one day too.”

“Find someone?” Cody asks, cocking his head slightly. 

“Yeah, like a girlfriend or a boyfriend,” Pete shrugs. “A partner, I mean.”

“Right,” Cody nods, his expression dropping as he moves away from Pete slightly.

“I mean, if that’s what you want,” Pete rushes to amend his statement. “You don’t have to date anyone if you don’t want to.”

“No, it’s not that,” Cody says, staring down at Pete’s bedspread. “I’d _like_ to date someone. One day.”

“Oh, alright,” Pete nods. “So, you’ve never dated anyone before?”

“I’m gonna go,” Cody says, and starts to get up from the bed. Pete holds his hands up, trying to stop him.

“Hey, it’s cool! Seriously, dude, whatever. It’s not _weird_ that you haven’t dated anyone, you’re still young.” 

“We’re, like, the same age,” Cody says, still looking wary. 

“Yeah, well, before my ex I’d never been with anyone seriously before,” Pete says. “Everyone moves at their own pace. So, wherever you’re at in life is fine.” 

Cody nods and relaxes slightly, settling back onto the bed. For a moment, neither of them say anything. 

Pete is actually a bit surprised, if he’s being honest. Cody is a weird guy, sure, but he’s not exactly _bad_ looking. Or, Pete can imagine that he wouldn’t be considered bad looking in the mall goth community. Pete is almost positive that there were at least _some_ Hot Topic employees who were into Cody, though he’d never in a million years say that.

“You really don’t think it’s weird that I’ve never dated anyone?” Cody asks, breaking the silence. Pete shakes his head. 

“I mean, I think you’re plenty dateable,” he says. Cody raises his eyebrows. “That’s not what I meant! I just mean it’s all fine. It’s all good. None of it is weird!” 

_Nice advice giving_ , a voice in Pete’s head says. Pete shushes it, and rubs his hands over his face, trying to re-focus. He’s a mentor now, he reminds himself. What would Kingston do?

“Have you ever wanted to date someone?” Pete asks, trying to steer the conversation in a different direction. Maybe Cody has been secretly harboring feelings for some fellow mall fanatic, or something, and he can direct his advice giving energy into that (though Pete’s not sure he’s the type of person who should be giving relationship advice to anybody.) 

“Sure,” Cody shrugs, “it’s just never really worked out. And I fucking hate dating apps, all that stuff is bullshit.”

“Well, they’re not for everyone,” Pete says. “You can meet people in different ways!”

“I guess…” Cody nods, trailing off. He still hasn’t met Pete’s eye. 

“Is everything alright?” Pete asks. 

“I don’t even know why I’m telling you this,” Cody murmurs. “Look, I’ve never… _been_ with anyone before. Like, at all. In any way. So, I’m not sure how feasible dating actually would be for me.”

“Oh,” Pete nods slowly, absorbing the information. “Like..at all?”

“Like at all,” Cody confirms sharply. “I’m pretty sure there are actual middle schoolers who’ve done more than me.”

“So…you’ve never been kissed?” Pete asks. Cody shrugs, but his face is suddenly bright red. Pete’s eyes widen. He hadn’t been expecting that response. 

“Yeah, so what?” He demands, picking absentmindedly at Pete’s bedspread. Pete smacks his hand away gently. 

“Don’t tug on the threads, dude,” he chides. Cody tucks his hands into his lap, still refusing to meet Pete’s eye. Pete sighs. “Look, sorry, I shouldn’t have asked that. Whatever you’ve done or haven’t done, it’s all good.”

“Shut up, I know that,” Cody sneers, but there’s no real heat behind it. It’s silent for a moment. Pete thinks about trying to change the subject, maybe get Cody to talk about his swords or something else to district him, but then Cody speaks again. “I just…never mind, it’s dumb.” 

“No, what is it?” Pete asks. 

“I mean, I did go out with this girl in high school back in Jersey. She was cool, or whatever, but…I don’t know. It just never felt right.”

“That’s fine, man, sometimes it just doesn’t click,” Pete shrugs. Cody nods slowly, finally looking up to meet Pete’s eye. 

“How do you know? When it clicks, I mean?” Cody asks. He’s so earnest, it takes Pete by surprise. It’s a bit endearing, actually.

“I don’t know,” Pete grins despite himself. “I wish I could describe it. I mean, ideally, it should be someone you like, and who makes you feel safe but also excited, if that makes sense. But you shouldn’t put too much pressure on it, man. The first person you kiss doesn’t have to be your soulmate.”

“So it could just be…a friend?” Cody asks, a strange look on his face. Pete nods, furrowing his brow slightly. 

“Yeah, sure,” Pete says. Cody just keeps looking at him, that same look on his face, as if he’s holding out a weapon to Pete and expecting him to do something terrible with it. Then, it clicks. “Oh. You mean a friend like _me_.”  
“What? No way, that’d be weird,” Cody insists, crossing his arms tightly over his chest. “I mean..that’d be weird, right?”

Pete doesn’t say anything, not at first. He’s trying to think before he speaks more, which is proving to be difficult in this situation. Cody is a sweet kid. Or, a sweet adult? He is Pete’s age after all. And his roommate, and occasional battle partner, and friend, no matter how strange that sounds. So, maybe it wouldn’t be the weirdest thing in the world. It’d just be like kissing his bunkmate at camp or something, back when he was in 8th grade and they were all obsessed with the idea of “practicing.”

“Yeah, ok,” Pete says. 

“Huh?” Cody asks, clearly surprised.

“I can be your first kiss,” Pete shrugs, trying to convey just how relaxed and casual he is about the whole situation. He’s really nailing this whole mentor thing, if he does say so himself. “If it makes you feel safe, and you just wanna get it over with or whatever, let’s do it.”

“Are you sure?” Cody asks, slowly lowering his arms.

“Yes, I’m sure,” Pete grins. Kingston is gonna be _so_ proud when Pete tells him all about how good he’s gotten at taking people under his wing.

“Ok,” Cody nods, still looking a bit skeptical. He lets his hands fall into his lap, and Pete leans forward. “Whoa!” Cody exclaims.

“Shit!” Pete jumps back abruptly, surprised. “Is everything ok?”

“Sorry, I just didn’t expect that,” Cody says, and Pete can see his hands tighten over his knees. 

“Right, sorry,” Pete shakes his head, trying to remind himself how calm and relaxed he is. “I’ll, um, go slower. On the approach, I mean.”

“Yeah, ok,” Cody nods, and Pete can see he’s bracing himself. 

“Hey, man,” Pete offers a small smile, “we absolutely do not have to do this if you don’t want to.” 

“No, I want to,” Cody says, his voice suddenly changed. He glances up at Pete. “I want to kiss you.”

“Right,” Pete nods, but his stomach jumps strangely. It must be the shawarma he’d eaten earlier. “I’m gonna lean in now, ok?”

Cody nods, and Pete’s trying so hard not to dwell on how strange this whole situation is that he doesn’t even realize when he’s only a few inches from Cody’s face. Neither of them have closed their eyes, so they’re just looking at each other. 

“Should I do something?” Cody asks, his voice uncharacteristically quiet. 

“Um, you can close your eyes, if you want?” Pete suggests. Cody nods and shuts his eyes, and Pete can see his shoulders relax. “You good?”

“Yes,” Cody nods, letting out a frustrated sigh, “I’m fine, Pete, God, let’s just get it over with.”

Pete can’t help but grin. It’s weirdly reassuring that Cody is still being kind of a shit-head. 

“Ok,” Pete murmurs, and slowly, he closes the gap between them. At first, it’s just as awkward as he expected. Very 8th grade, the exact sort of kiss that reminds Pete of sleep away camp. Pete smiles slightly against Cody’s closed lips, feeling as if he’s sort of nailed this whole supportive friend thing. Then, Cody tilts his head slightly. 

_Oh,_ Pete thinks, and then his brain kind of shuts off. He’s _actually_ kissing Cody now, and it really, really doesn’t feel like 8th grade anymore. Without thinking, his hands come up and cup either side of Cody’s face, which Cody responds to by pressing into Pete with a bit more force. It’s actually kind of nice. For a guy who’s never kissed anyone before, Cody doesn’t actually seem that inexperienced. In fact, he’s a pretty good kisser. Which is a very worrying thought for Pete for be having, especially as Cody is taking his lower lip in between his teeth and Pete is leaning into him even more. 

It passes into the territory of being _very_ worrying when Pete realizes he’s actively having to stop himself from tangling his hands in Cody’s hair. He’s definitely not telling Kingston about this part. 

Then, Cody pulls away, and Pete’s hands fall away from his face. All the air rushes back into Pete’s lungs, he sits there for a moment, a bit stunned, and just staring at him. Cody’s face is bright red, and his dark hair is falling down in strands around his face. Pete keeps on trying to look anywhere but his lips, which is proving to be difficult. 

“Was that…ok?” Cody asks.

“Huh?” Pete responds. Cody crosses his arms defensively, closing himself back up.

“I mean, did I do a good job?” Cody demands. “C’mon, man, just be honest.”

“Yeah, uh, you did good,” Pete shakes his head, trying to clear his thoughts. _You’re casual and relaxed, remember?_

“Ok, nice,” Cody grins, as if he’s just nailed a skate trick or something. Pete stares at him, mouth ajar. “Thanks, dude.”

“Anytime,” Pete nods. Cody bumps him on the shoulder with his fist and gets up, saying something about getting back to his game of Soul Caliber. Pete watches him go, still stunned, until Cody shuts the door and Pete can hear his footsteps retreating down the stairs. Then, in a truly horrifying move, Pete raises his fingers to his face and touches his lips. 

“What the _fuck_.”


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw for a brief description of animal death

Pete barely sleeps at all that night, but he forces himself to get up early the next morning anyway, having promised Kingston he’d meet him for breakfast before his shift starts at the bookstore. He gets himself out the door hours before Cody is even up, which Pete is grateful for. He’s still feeling a bit too out of sorts to talk to him. 

Kingston texts him the address of diner on 110th, and by the time Pete arrives, Kingston is already sitting in a booth, with two streaming mugs on the table in front of him. 

“Hey, Kingston,” Pete greets, sliding into the booth. Kingston slides one of the mugs in front of him.

“Green tea with honey, right?” Kingston asks. 

“Yeah, thank you,” Pete grins, accepting the mug and taking a grateful sip. 

“You’re looking a bit worse for the wear,” Kingston chuckles, grabbing one of the massive laminated menus from the holder by the side of the table. “Everything alright?”

“Uh, yeah,” Pete nods, grabbing a menu as well and promptly burying his nose in it, trying to hide his expression (he’s always been shitty at lying when it comes to Kingston.)

“You sure?” Kingston asks, his tone neutral, as if he’s just testing the water. Pete nods, his attention still firmly focused on the omelette section on the page in front of him. 

“Just had a bit of a late night, that’s all,” Pete says, which isn’t exactly a lie. “I was up reading pretty late actually. This book that JJ got me.”

“Right, the dream research,” Kingston nods. “How’s that going?”

“I’m returning the book today,” Pete sighs, finally closing the menu. Kingston nods, his forehead creasing.

“Hey, Pete,” he says, and Pete can’t help but smile, already comforted by Kingston’s serious “this is the Vox Populi talking” voice. “You’re doing great. Whatever’s going on in Nod, we’re gonna get to the bottom of it together.”

“Yeah, of course,” Pete nods, trying not to let any panic enter into his voice. He just can’t stop thinking about how it felt holding the Gray Orphan against his chest. 

When Pete was little, his dad had hit a rabbit on the road, once. It had come out of nowhere, darting out in front of the car. Pete knows there was no real way for his dad to avoid it, but still, his heart just sunk the moment he realized what had happened. He shouted at his dad, desperate for him to pull over, and when he did, Pete had rushed out into the street and picked up the rabbit. It was already half-dead, it’s heartbeat coming quick and dim, and Pete had knelt there, in the middle of the road, holding it against his chest, until the beating stopped and the front of Pete’s t-shirt was soaked with blood. 

Holding Nod had felt exactly like that. 

“Pete, listen,” Kingston begins again, casting a quick glance over at the waitress coming their way. “You know you can always talk to me about what’s on your mind, right?”

Pete thinks for a moment about telling Kingston about the rabbit, about how fucking terrified Pete had been when he found Nod half-dead and barely breathing, practically cannibalized by whatever _thing_ had been there with them in the Dream World. 

“Yeah,” Pete nods, biting his tongue and offering his friend a smile, “I know.”

His shift at the bookstore passes slowly that day. It’s just Pete working during the afternoon, and they’re closing early that night for some private book signing, so he spends most of his day checking inventory and organizing stickers. The sun is just beginning to retreat in the sky when Zee arrives to relieve him, wearing a bright orange blouse and carrying some mini-plastic wine cups in their lap. 

“Hey!” Zee greets, “How was the day crowd?”

“Slow,” Pete shrugs, leaning up against the counter, “Sold a couple of copies of _Stone Butch Blues._ Tried to count exactly how many red books there are on the shelves. The usual.”

Zee grins, setting down the glasses. 

“Well, we’re locking up until the signing starts, so I’m here to rescue you.”

“Need help setting up?” Pete asks. 

“Nah, the author is sending their assistant to come by in like an hour or so.” 

“Fancy,” Pete whistles lowly, with makes Zee roll their eyes. 

“Yes, the glamorous life of New York Times bestseller,” Zee says, and then they snap their fingers, as if they’re just remembering something. “Actually, there’s a case of wine in the back, would you grab it? We just need a couple of bottles.”

“Sure,” Pete agrees, “I guess you can take over lining up all the stickers perfectly.”

“It’s really your attention to detail that I cherish, Pete,” Zee says with a laugh. Pete shoots them a grin before heading back towards the small storage closet by the Middle Reader section. 

Pete spends the next half hour pouring small servings of red wine into glasses until Zee shoos him off. 

“I know you don’t wanna spend your whole evening bumming around here with me,” Zee says, arranging some books on the front table. “C’mon, get out of here.” 

Pete concedes, giving the stack of stickers one last appraising look, before saying good night to Zee and heading out into the frigid evening. Pete can see his breath puffing into small clouds in front of him as he hustles west. All the snow from the previous night has turned to slush, but Pete is prepared this time, wearing a pair of huge winter boots Ricky had given to him as a hand-me-down. Pete has to wear two pairs of socks for them to fit, but it’s definitely worth it. 

By the time Pete gets to Columbia’s campus, his nose is bright pink from the cold and the sky is almost dark, with only a few meager stretches of sunlight still in the sky. The world is indigo, and there are crowds of students moving across campus when Pete enters through the gate. Pete is positive he’d sold at least half of these kids Xanax before, so he just keeps his head down and heads to the book drop off location JJ had mentioned to him. The buildings are _huge_ , almost comically large, as if Pete just stepped onto the set of some old Hollywood film where everything is grander than it should be. The massive library is all lit up from the inside, and Pete locates the drop off box by the main entrance, right by a group of kids taking a smoke break near the steps. He slides the book in through the slot and promptly shoves his hands back into his pockets, trying to keep them warm. 

Pete is a bit horrified at himself when he realizes he’s lingering there by the students for much longer than necessary because the smell of smoke reminds him of Cody. Pete curses himself and stomps off, nearly eating shit on the icy steps on the way down. _Stupid Cody! Stupid Cody with his stupid cigarettes and stupid hair and dumb, stupid, idiot mouth._

Pete takes a deep breath, trying to steady himself. He’s being irrational, he knows that. He’s probably just freaking out because he hasn’t been with anyone since Priya, not counting that insanely awkward night is Rowan. Being the Vox Phantasma is demanding enough, and on top of that, he’s had a meeting schedule to keep up with. There really isn’t a lot of time to meet people between protecting the city’s dreams and trying to get sober. So, clearly, his body is just reacting weirdly to what went down with Cody because he hasn’t kissed anyone in a while. That’s all. Pete nods definitively, which earns him an odd looking from a passing student. Pete grimaces slightly and tucks his face back into his scarf. _This is fine_ , he reassures himself, _you’re normal and this is fine._ With that thought, Pete heads in the direction of the train, leaving the campus just as night settles over the city and the lights on the trees flicker on, turning everything gold and bright. 

Pete is surprised to see someone on the porch when he arrives home to Astoria that night. He’s walking up the street, trying to figure out who it is, when he sees a lighter flick on. It’s Cody, there’s no one else who would be out smoking in below freezing temperatures. _Shit_. 

“Hey,” Pete calls as he approaches, hoping his voice sounds casual and not at all taken off-guard. 

“Hey,” Cody nods in greeting as Pete climbs the steps. “How was work?”

“Fine,” Pete frowns, giving his roommate a quick once over. “Dude, aren’t you cold?”  
Cody shrugs. He’s just wearing a tank top and sweatpants, which it absolutely baffling to Pete, who’s still shivering in his parka.

“I don’t mind the cold,” Cody says. 

“Right, and are you also impossibly fast and 17 forever?” Pete asks. Cody chuckles, taking a drag of his cigarette.

“Nice Twilight reference, dude, very topical,” Cody says.

“Oh, because Final Fantasy references are so much more in right now,” Pete grins. To his surprise, Cody lets out a real laugh this time. It’s frustratingly sweet. 

“Yeah, whatever man,” Cody sighs, cocking his cigarette between his middle and pointer finger, “not my fault you don’t understand the beauty of that franchise.”

“Not all of us can be as enlightened as you, I guess,” Pete shrugs, but he can’t seem to keep the grin off of his face. Cody just looks at him for a moment, but all of a sudden, Pete is having a hard time meeting his eyes. 

“So, look,” Cody begins, rubbing his nose and gazing off towards the street, “about last night-”

“It’s cool, we don’t need to talk about it if you don’t want,” Pete interrupts. He’s half-hoping Cody will just agree and not say anything, but there’s another part of him that is dying to know what he wants to talk about, even though Pete has no idea how he’d respond. 

“I just wanted to say thank you,” Cody sighs, flicking some ash off the end of his cigarette with his thumb. 

“Oh,” Pete nods, a bit taken aback. “Um, you’re welcome?”

“Is it weird to thank a friend after they’re your first kiss?” Cody asks, his lips tugging upwards in a small smile. Pete relaxes slightly and sighs, watching his breath appear in front of him in a small cloud. 

“No, no it’s…it’s actually kind of nice of you,” Pete says, trying for a smile as well, though he’s unable to get the nervous feeling out of his stomach. “So, you’re welcome. Anytime.”

Cody raises an eyebrow. Pete’s eyes widen, immediately realizing what he’s just said. 

“That’s not what I meant!” He insists hurriedly. “I just meant, if you ever feel nervous or whatever. About kissing someone. Someone other than me, I mean. I’m always here to help. With that kind of stuff.” 

“Ok, cool,” Cody nods, frowning slightly, as if he’s thinking hard about something. Pete almost makes a run for the door at that moment, but something stops him. Maybe it’s the look on Cody’s face when their eyes meet again. “It’s just…there is someone that I’m into. And I think I could use a bit more…practice. Before I’m ready for the real thing, you know?”

The nervous feeling in Pete’s stomach reaches a fever pitch, which he stubbornly ignores. 

“Oh?” He asks, trying to keep his voice steady.

“I don’t mean like kissing or whatever!” Cody assures. “Look, the last time I took someone on a date it was like a million years ago and we just went to a Panda Express and a skatepark.”

“I don’t know, that sounds like a pretty solid date to me,” Pete smirks, and Cody whacks him in the arm, but there’s no real malice behind it. 

“Shut up, dude,” Cody huffs. “I just mean…I would appreciate some tips or whatever. About romance.”

Pete catches Cody’s expression when he says “romance,” almost as if he’s trying not to physically gag. Pete grins, feeling his nerves finally give way. 

“I hate to break it to you, but I’m not really an expert at this stuff,” Pete admits. 

“You’re right, sorry,” Cody shakes his head, staring down at his feet, “This was dumb, I shouldn’t have asked.”

“No, no, it’s cool,” Pete insists, bringing his hand up and resting it on Cody’s shoulder, in what he hopes is a comforting, extremely platonic way. “Look, I’m not an expert, but I still wanna help.”

“You do?” Cody asks, clearly incredulous. 

“Yeah,” Pete shrugs. “Why the hell not?”

“Ok…” A small smile creeps over Cody’s face, though Pete can tell he’s trying to fight it off. “Just don’t be fucking weird about this, ok?”

“I promise,” Pete raises a hand and crosses it over his heart. Cody eyes him warily for a moment but finally nods. “Great. Can we go inside now please? It’s freezing out here.”

Cody chuckles, but moves to open the front door, gesturing for Pete to get inside. 

“You hungry?” Pete asks. “Pretty sure I still have a frozen pizza from Trader Joe’s in the kicking around.”

“I was just-” Cody begins, but Pete shoots him a look.

“Please don’t say you were just gonna have another Monster.” 

Cody looks sufficiently chided, and Pete swings an arm around his shoulder, tugging him back down the hall towards the kitchen.

“Not gonna let you go malnourished on my watch, Night Angel,” Pete grins. Cody shoots him an indecipherable look, and Pete can see a bit of color rise on his cheek. Probably just from the cold. 

Pete thaws the pizza in the oven. Despite his grumbling, Cody eats half of it. 


	3. Chapter Three

The next morning, Pete wakes up to a strange weight on his chest, almost as if there’s a cat curled up there. He wonders for a moment if La Gran Gata somehow ended up in Astoria, but when Pete cracks his eyes open, he’s horrified to see am imp perched on his chest, staring at him with massive, orb-like eyes .

“FUCK!” Pete exclaims, tumbling off of his bed.

“Where is the Dark Lord of New Jersey, He Who Unthroned The Devil Before Him, The One Who is Called Night Angel?” The imp demands in a squeaky voice.

“You mean Cody?” Pete asks, still a bit dazed. The imp cocks its head to the side, clearly confused. Pete sighs, lofting himself up off the floor and stumbling over to his bedroom door before throwing it open. 

“CODY!” He shouts down the stairs. “YOU HAVE A VISITOR!”

“FUCK!” He hears Cody shout, before the sound of footsteps comes thumping up the stairs. Cody appears a few minutes later, still in his pajamas. 

“You know this guy?” Pete asks, moving out of the way so Cody can get past. The imp, still on Pete’s bed, gives an excited screech before throwing itself on the ground, bowing furiously. 

“Shit, I’m sorry,” Cody shoots a quick glance over at Pete. “They’ve been doing this ever since the fight in the Lincoln Tunnel, but usually they’re a bit better at finding me.”

“Dark Lord Night Angel, I am here to prostrate myself before you-” The imp begins, but Cody raises his hand, silencing it abruptly. 

“Right, yeah, you’re hear to pledge your unending fealty, I get it,” Cody sighs, rubbing a hand over his face. Pete watches Cody with an expression of shock on his face, unable to process what exactly he’s seeing.

“If I can do anything to be of service to my Dark Master,” the imp starts again, bowing even deeper. 

“Look, just don’t cause any trouble, ok?” Cody asks. “No starting fights, no kidnapping babies, and don’t throw shit at tourists, even if you think it’d be funny.”

“Not even the ones going into the M&M store?” The imp asks. Pete’s jaw drops. This early in the morning, his brain is completely unable to process how an infernal imp would even know what the M&M store is. 

“Not even those guys,” Cody insists. “Just, uh, if you hear anything about Gladiator or their plans for the Queens Center Mall, you’ll report back to me, understood?”

The imp nods enthusiastically and scrambles closer to Cody, but Cody stomps his foot firmly, which stops the creature in its tracks. 

“Stop being fucking weird, man,” Cody sighs, running a hand through his hair. “Just fuck off, please. And tell all your friends to leave Pete alone. And to never come into his room again.”

The imp gives another enthusiastic nod and a couple of bows before disappearing in a puff of foul smelling smoke. Cody curls his nose up in disgust. 

“Uh, what the hell was that?” Pete asks. Cody turns around, looking a bit embarrassed. 

“Sorry, man,” Cody says. “These guys just keep showing up, ever since the Jersey Devil died and I sort of became the new one. It’s cool or whatever but they can get kind of annoying after a while.” 

“Right, yeah,” Pete nods, still a bit dazed. “Naturally.” 

“They won’t bother you again, I promise,” Cody assures. 

It’s so surreal, seeing Cody standing there in Pete’s bedroom in a pair of sweats and an old Breaking Benjamin t-shirt, talking as if he’d just shooed away some annoying friend and not an infernal creature from Hell. It’s only at that moment that Pete realizes just how different of playing field Cody is in. When Pete got indoctrinated into the Unsleeping City, it was because he was specifically chosen. Nod had seen something in him, and from there, Pete was just sort of along for the ride. He’s gotten much better at magic, sure, but he never had to navigate the shit Cody’s now in the middle of.

“You handled that really well,” Pete finally says, and he means it. Cody shrugs, but there’s a small smile creeping onto his face. 

“Thanks,” he says, rubbing the back of his neck, clearly a bit bashful. “It’s kinda everything I ever dreamed of.”

“You dreamed about imps waking up your roommate because they wanna devote themselves to you?” Pete asks. 

“No, not that,” Cody sighs, settling onto the corner of Pete’s bed. “I mean, I spent _such_ a long time pretending that all this cool shit was real, you know? And now all of a sudden, it _is_ real. Like I get to fight actual monsters. That shit is _so_ cool.”

Pete grins, unable to keep the smile off of his face. Cody’s right, the Unsleeping City _is_ cool, and Pete realizes he’s let himself forget that over the past few years, ever since this part of his life became so normal. 

“You’re right,” Pete says, sitting down on the bed beside him. “I mean, it’s insanely dangerous, and you made a really dumb deal with that devil but…you commanding an army of imps is pretty cool.”

“It’s not an army,” Cody shrugs, but he’s still smiling. “At least, not yet.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re on our side,” Pete chuckles. 

“Me too,” Cody says, looking at him, and Pete is surprised by how serious his expression is. “After the mall closed, I guess I was just feeling sort of lost. So it feels nice. To be with you guys, I mean.”

“Yeah,” Pete smiles, “it does feel nice.” 

Cody opens his mouth, like he’s about to say something more, but at that moment, Pete’s phone chimes from its place on his bedside table. Pete gets up to check it, and is surprised to see a text from Sofia on the screen. 

“It’s the groupchat,” Pete murmurs, and Cody comes up to stand behind him. Pete tries to keep his focus on the text message he’s trying to read and not on the fact that, in this position, he’s _really_ aware of just how much taller Cody is than him. 

“What’s up?” Cody asks. 

“Sofia says there’s some issue down in NoMad, something about a museum,” Pete explains. The message isn’t much, just some coordinates and warning about a rogue exhibit. 

“We should go,” Cody straightens up, already heading for the door. 

“We should get dressed first,” Pete calls after him. Cody shoots him a thumbs up. For a moment, Pete just collapses back onto his bed, rubbing a hand over his face. Today is already too much to handle.

Pete and Cody are out the door to catch the train a few minutes later. They practically sprint all the way there, hopping the turnstile and running onto the N before it pulls out of the station. Pete keeps his eye on his phone the whole time, but the Sofia doesn’t say anything more. There are a few confirmations, from Ricky, Kingston and then Madame Anastasia. A message from Esther comes through as well, saying she’s there with Sofia, trying to “hold something back.” Pete assures them that he and Cody are on their way. 

By the time their train pulls into the 28th Street station, there’s already chaos on the street above. They take off at a run towards the center of the chaos, and Pete spots Ricky, jogging around a corner, Ox in tow. 

“Ricky!” Pete calls, waving his hands over his head. All around him, people are rushing towards the train or further down the street, away from God knows what. “Where are Esther and Sofia?” 

“This way!” Ricky calls, motioning for them to follow him. Without thinking, Pete grabs Cody’s hand and tugs him along, fighting through the crowd. It doesn’t take them long to track down Esther and Sofia. Kingston and Madame Anastasia are there as well, trying to usher people to safety. Esther is standing in the center of it all, her hands raised, muttering something to herself, all of her focus directed at a building Pete doesn’t recognize. 

“What’s going on?” Pete asks once they’re all together.

“There’s something trying to break out of that museum,” Sofia explains. “We think something, or _a lot_ of things in there are being possessed.”

“What is this place?” Kingston asks. 

“Museum of Sex,” Esther explains, her concentration still focused on whatever spell she’s conjuring. “A new exhibit opened today, apparently, but obviously something’s gone wrong.”

“That museum is all about sex?” Ricky asks earnestly. 

“Yes, love,” Esther responds. “Look, I can’t hold these doors shut much longer, so whatever is in there, it’s gonna be out here really soon.”

“Don’t strain yourself, dear,” Madame Anastasia says, positioning herself beside Kingston, her hands raised. “Whatever is in there, I’m sure we can take it.”

“What exactly… _is_ in there?” Cody asks. Pete glances at him, and only at that moment does he realize he hadn’t actually ever let go of his hand. Pete drops it abruptly, and if Cody notices, he doesn’t say anything. 

“Mostly a lot of art about sex,” Sofia shrugs. “Some really beautiful and interesting stuff, actually.”

“You’ve been?” Kingston asks. 

“Yeah, it’s fun,” Sofia grins. “Great date night spot.”

“Guys, can we focus please!” Esther shouts, clearly struggling to keep the spell going. 

“Right, sorry!” Sofia says,lowering herself into a fighting stance. Whatever crowd had been rushing out of the museum is long gone now, and the street around them is cleared. Pete thinks he can hear sirens somewhere in the distance, but they don’t have time to worry about that right now. Next to him, Cody pulls out the Questing Blade and gives it a few experimental swings. 

“Let’s do this thing!” Cody calls. Ricky shoots him a look that Pete catches but, much to Pete’s surprise, Ricky just nods. 

“Let the spell drop, babe,” Ricky says to Esther. Esther nods and, after one more breath in, drops her hands. 

The front doors of the museum crash open. It takes Pete’s eyes a moment to adjust to what he’s seeing, but once they do, it doesn’t exactly make sense. There are robotic sex dolls of all shapes and sizes lumbering towards them, their pace staggered like zombies. There’s one that looks like it’s wearing a leather body suit, and another Pete is pretty sure has a tail. He spots at least one wielding a knife. 

“Oh my god,” he says. At that moment, one of the dolls cocks its head sharply at the sound of his voice and, in a truly terrifying turn of events, gets down on all fours and starts crawling towards him rapidly.

“Shit!” Sofia swears. She jumps sharply and lands hard on the doll’s back, and Pete hears a metallic crack. “These things can move, we gotta get to higher ground.” 

The army of dolls begins advancing more rapidly, some of them down on the ground, others still moving like zombies. Esther shoots a few spells in their direction, and Pete sees one of them lose an arm, spending sparks flying. 

“Higher ground I can do,” Madame Anastasia says, and Pete sees her get hoisted upwards. 

“You heard Sofia, let’s go!” Kingston calls out. Pete rushes away from the encroaching dolls, and he can tell the rest aren’t far behind. Kingston hoists himself on top of a car, helping Esther up after him, and Pete watches Sofia charge towards one of the buildings across the street. Without thinking, Pete follows her. 

“C’mon, Pete!” Sofia calls back to him, already lofting herself up onto some scaffolding. She reaches down and helps Pete up, so the two of them are able to survey the scene a bit better. Madame Anastasia sends a few spells down from above, one of which sends the top of a fire hydrant flying, sending water everywhere. One of the dolls wanders into its path, and Pete can see it short circuit, its emotionless face swinging wildly on its neck.

“God, this is weird,” Pete says. 

“Tell me about it,” Sofia nods. “Wait here a second.” 

Pete watches her swing back onto the ground where a doll wearing a red bikini has begun to claw at the base of the scaffolding, trying to make its way up. Sofia punches it swiftly in the jaw, but it grabs her by the hair with a surprising amount of strength. 

“Sofia!” Pete calls. A spell comes out of nowhere, knocking the doll back, and Pete can see Esther shooting Sofia a quick thumbs up.

“Thanks girl!” Sofia calls out. 

“No problem!” Esther replies with a grin. 

Sofia delivers a swift round house kick to the dolls head, sending it flying off its neck. On the car, Pete sees Kingston pressing a firm hand to one of the dolls forehead, and it collapses backwards, as if a switch has been flipped in its brain. Sofia lofts herself back onto the scaffolding, her eyes scanning the street. 

“Ricky, you alright?” She calls out. Ricky is still down on the ground, a soft light emitting from his sword and he lofts it high over his head and brings it down in one swift motion, cutting one of the dolls in half.

“Doing great!” He responds. A few feet away, Pete finally catches sight of Cody. He’s swinging the Questing Blade around in wide arcs, like something out of a video game, but when he steps back from the doll he’s been fighting, it collapses in parts, landing scattered on the street. 

“We’re about to get some company!” Sofia shouts. Pete glances down, and sure enough, some dolls have started to crawl up the scaffolding. One of them get far enough to start grabbing at Pete’s ankles, and he shoots a spell at its head, leaving it a smoldering hole. The body falls back to the ground, and Sofia grins. 

“Nice one,” she says, delivering a swift kick to the face of another approaching doll. The thing manages to get itself up further, but when it does, Sofia just tugs it upwards, wrangling it into a headlock. 

“FUCK!” Pete hears a voice cry out. Down on the street, one of the dolls has managed to get a swing on Cody, taking out his legs and sending him tumbling to the ground. The thing makes a horrifying hissing noise and plunges its hand down, trying to pierce Cody’s chest. 

“CODY!” Pete cries out without thinking. Cody shoots him a quick glance, and in the same moment, manages to snag the doll’s arm and _twist_ it. With his other hand, Cody scrambles for the Questing Blade and then, in surprising show of dexterity, brings the blade up in one big arc and slices the head of the doll clean off. Pete lets out a sigh of relief. Then, to his horror, Cody actually shoots him a smile, like some sort of corny action hero. It makes Pete’s stomach _drop._

_Oh my god, I am so screwed._ He thinks to himself, and then sends another spell down into the crowd of dolls down below. 

Further down the scaffolding, Sofia is still wrestling with the doll that she’d gotten into a headlock. 

“SOFIA!” Pete calls. 

“WHAT?” Sofia demands, wrestling the doll down to the ground and planting a firm knee into its head. 

“WHAT DO YOU THINK OF CODY?” Pete asks.

“CODY?” Sofia repeats. The doll underneath lets out a horrible whirring noise, and Sofia drives her knee in further, until Pete can see the inside of the doll’s head and the whole thing goes limp. Sofia jumps up and rushes closer to Pete, so they’re standing back to back. “Why the fuck are you asking me about the kid right now?”

“I’m just curious what you think of him, that’s all!” Pete says defensively, shooting off another blast down onto the street below. It catches a doll right in the chest and sends it flying backwards, right into a few of its friends, who all collapse onto the ground. 

“He’s annoying and he doesn’t deserve the Questing Blade,” Sofia says pointedly. “But… he’s a good kid, deep down. I can see that.”

“Yeah,” Pete nods. He catches sight of Cody again, down on the street below, swinging the Questing Blade over his head and bringing it down in a swift arc, cutting another doll in half. Pete swallows hard. “He’s ok, I guess.”

“Why are you asking me this right now?” Sofia asks. At that moment, another doll scrambles up onto the scaffolding and Sofia grapples with it, pinning its hand down. “Look, I know him and Ricky have their differences, but we’d never let anything bad happen to him, so you don’t need to worry.”

“No, I know, it’s not that,” Pete says. Another doll starts clawing its way up and Pete shoots a ray of frost down at it, immobilizing it. “It’s just…never mind, it’s dumb.”

“What?” Sofia asks, driving a fist directly into the dolls chest and pulling out what looks its heart. She turns back around to look at Pete, still holding the weird mechanical organ in her hand. 

“Nothing!” Pete insists. Sofia looks at him for a second and Pete shrinks a bit under her gaze. Her eyes widen.

“Oh my God,” she breathes. “Oh my fucking God!”

“What?” Pete asks. Down below, Ricky lets out a surprised yelp as a doll latches onto his leg with her horrible, mechanical mouth. 

“What happened between you and Cody?” Sofia demands. Pete blanches. 

“Nothing!” He exclaims. “Nothing happened, why would you even ask that?”

“Because, on occasion, I am incredibly good at reading people, and this is one of those times,” Sofia says, before swinging herself back down onto the ground. Pete has no choice but to follow, scrambling down a bit less gracefully and kicking a doll in the chest as he goes. 

“Nothing happened, I swear,” Pete insists, coming to stand beside her, casting his energy towards another fire hydrant, which explodes, soaking another group of dolls. At that moment, Ricky manages to free himself, and Pete watches him scramble up onto the car. Esther sends a flurry of sparks out of her hand and the doll that had grabbed onto Ricky is sent flying backwards before collapsing in a fiery heap. Kingston presses a healing hand over the wound on Ricky’s leg. Somewhere overhead, Madame Anastasia is still throwing spells, while Cody remains stubbornly in the thick of things on the street, swinging the Questing Blade around wildly. 

“You’re a horrible liar, Pete,” Sofia says. “I don’t know how you were a drug dealer for so long.”

“Shut up,” Pete mutters. He’s unable to tear his eyes away from Cody and, with a frustrated groan, Pete stomps his way out onto the street. _Stupid Cody with his stupid sword and dumb, stupid, idiot need to do cool battle shit._

Pete approaches the remaining dolls who are beginning to crowd around Cody, and with a swift inhale, brings his hands up. 

“CODY!” He calls. Cody looks back at him, and without Pete even having to say another word, he runs towards him. 

“Think you can take these all out at once?” Cody asks, still swinging his blade, trying to keep the crowd of dolls at bay. 

“I can try,” Pete says, which is the best he can offer at the moment. Cody nods. 

“I got your back,” he says, and at that moment, brings out an arm and pushes Pete out of the way before a doll can get a hold of his arm. Cody swings the Questing Blade and slices the doll in half at the stomach. Pete closes his eyes and, in what he hopes isn’t a really stupid decision, trusts Cody. 

The energy starts in Pete’s stomach and then spreads out through all his limbs, a warm heat that makes him feel like he’s been lit up from the inside. Somewhere, out in Manhattan, there’s a kid who’s invented a world in his head where dinosaurs never died, and he dreams about it every single night. Out in Brooklyn, there’s a guy in his 50s who’s about to start a band, something he’s been wanting to do ever since he was a little kid. All the way up in Washington Heights, a woman is pinning collage brochures to her fridge for her daughter to look at. Everywhere, all across the city, there are dreamers, people who Pete will never meet, but whose energy he can feel flowing through him now. A million ideas, images and snippets flash across his mind. Then, all of that energy gets redirected to one task: saving his friends, and taking out these dolls. 

Pete opens his eyes. From his raised hands, a massive blast of purple energy shoots forward, sending the dolls crashing backwards into the front of the museum. The energy contracts and then explodes, until the whole street is covered in it. Then, it settles over them in a coating of glitter. All the dolls are down. The fight is over. 

“Whoa,” Cody breathes. Pete turns around to look at him. His dark hair is covered in the purple glitter, and when Cody grins, his whole face lights up. “That was _so_ sick.” 

Pete smiles, reaching up and tousling some glitter out of his own hair. 

“Thanks,” he says. 

“Here, lemme get that,” Cody murmurs, sheathing his blade and stepping closer to Pete. Before Pete can say anything, Cody is running a hand through Pete’s hair, sending glitter cascading onto the ground. Pete can feel his face heat up. Worse than that, he’s pretty sure he can see Sofia staring at them over Cody’s shoulder. 

“Uh, thanks,” he murmurs as the rest of the group rushes over. Most of them are covered in glitter as well. Only Madame Anastasia escaped the flurry, and at that moment, she lands beside them, surveying the scene. 

“What a shit show,” she chuckles. 

“Agreed,” Kingston murmurs, poking one of the discarded dolls with his foot. “I always thought these things were creepy, but that was downright disturbing.”

“We should get out here before any cops show up,” Esther says. “The Umbral Arcana can do a lot, but I don’t really wanna know what people are gonna make of this one.”

“Esther’s right,” Sofia confirms, and Pete doesn’t miss the quick glance she shoots his way. “Maybe we should get together later, try to make sense of this whole thing.”

“Come by the Gramercy Occult Society tomorrow,” Esther suggests. “In the meantime, try to make it home as surreptitiously as possible.”

“I am incredible at being surreptitious, my girl,” Madame Anastasia assures with a wink. 

Everyone agrees to confirm when they’ve gotten home safely in the groupchat, and the group disbands, everyone heading off in different directions. 

“We are not done talking about this,” Sofia murmurs to Pete before he can escape. Luckily, she’s so quiet Pete doesn’t think anyone else can hear her, but it still makes his chest tighten nervously. Before she can say anything else, Pete can feel his arm get tugged by Cody and they’re heading off, back towards the subway station. He casts one last look behind him at Sofia, but her expression is still unreadable. 

Cody is still shaking glitter out of his hair all the way to the train, and Pete is surprised when he stops him before they can head down the stairs to the platform.

“Hey,” Cody says, finally giving up and tying up his still shiny hair in a bun, “thanks for saving my ass back there.” 

“Don’t mention it, man,” Pete shrugs, “you did some really good work out there.”

“Thanks,” Cody grins, and for a moment, they’re just standing there, smiling at each other. If it was anywhere other than New York, they might be receiving some weird looks, but as it stands, people are just brushing past them, continuing on with they lives as if there’s nothing odd about two grown men, covered in glitter, one with a sword strapped to his back, staring at each other. 

“Hey, look, I have a meeting I should get to,” Pete begins, stuffing his hands down into the pockets of his jacket, “but…are you doing anything tonight?”

“Might be logging on to dick around with JJ for a while,” Cody shrugs. “Why?”  
“We should go out,” Pete suggests. Cody looks genuinely taken aback, as if Pete had just suggested they go rob a bank or something.

“Go out?” Cody asks. 

“Yeah, like as practice, remember?” Pete asks. “I mean, if you still want to.” 

Cody hesitates for a moment, but finally, he nods, a small smile creeping onto his face. 

“Yeah, sure,” he finally concedes. “You can teach me how to, I don’t know-”

“Do date stuff?” Pete interrupts. Cody chuckles, and the movement of his head sends some glitter falling to the ground. 

“Sure, you can teach me how to do date stuff.”

Pete tries to remind himself that he’s just doing this as a friendly gesture. They’re not _actually_ going on a date or anything. They’re just…pretending to go on a date. Which is a totally normal thing for two adult male roommates to do with each other. 

“Be ready at eight then,” Pete says, before he lets himself overanalyze the situation anymore than he already is. Cody nods, but Pete is already off, charging down the stairs to catch the downtown train. 

“Wait!” Cody calls after him. “What should I wear?”

“Whatever feels right!” Pete calls back, shooting him a thumbs up. Cody looks skeptical, but Pete just grins. He’ll figure something out. 


	4. Chapter Four

Pete doesn’t get back to Astoria until much later in the day, and when he arrives, Cody is nowhere to be found. When Pete gets up to his room and begins to rifle through his closet, he actually starts to feel a bit nervous. What if it sucks? What is he’s horrible at actually giving dating advice, and it all ends up going to shit?

_You need to relax,_ he reminds himself, trying to imagine someone he trusts, like Kingston, saying it to him instead. Pete nods, taking a steadying breath. It’s all chill. Cody is his friend, after all. There’s nothing to be stressed about. They’re just two friends getting dinner together, that’s all. 

It takes a while, but Pete finally picks out something to wear. He’s decides on a floral button-up, a gift Kingston had gotten him a year ago for Christmas, and some dark jeans, one of two pairs of actually nice pants he’d gotten when he’d landed his job at the book store. He feels a bit stiff, but then he tugs on his bomber, and begins to feel a bit more relaxed. It’s just past eight o’clock when he finally makes his way downstairs and he’s surprised to find Cody already waiting by the door, tugging nervously at his jacket. 

“You clean up pretty good, Night Angel,” Pete calls down from the stairs. Cody’s eye shoot up to look at him, clearly surprised. 

“Uh, hey,” he greets, stepping back so Pete can get a better look at him. “Thanks.”

Cody does actually look pretty good. He’s wearing the same dark blue vest Pete has seen a million times, but he’s traded out his duster for an actual suit jacket, which is a nice touch. He’s done his hair in a half-up bun, and upon closer inspection, Pete realizes that a small part of his hair is actually braided. 

“Did you do that?” Pete asks. 

“Yeah,” Cody shrugs, looking a bit bashful. “I have a younger sister back home, so I’m pretty good with braiding hair. She made me do it all the time when we were growing up.”

The thought of a teenage Cody wrangling some little girl’s hair into neat braids makes Pete grin. He can’t help but picture him at thirteen years old, already obsessed with Hot Topic, growing up in the New Jersey suburbs, trying to teach himself how to sword fight in the backyard. Pete wonders if he’d ever felt lonely growing up, like Pete had. He wonders if they’d have been friends. 

“I really wish I’d known you when you were a kid,” Pete says suddenly. Cody looks at him, startled. Pete thinks of taking it back, but then Cody smiles tentatively. 

“I don’t think you would’ve liked me very much,” he admits. 

“Well, I like you now,” Pete shrugs. Cody doesn’t say anything, just looks at Pete, as if he’d just said something much more outlandish than that he liked him. Pete is struck by the sudden impression that Cody hasn’t heard people say things like that to him that often, at least not directly. It makes Pete’s cheeks redden, wondering if there’s some sort of hidden implication he’s not getting, some secret code that he’s yet to crack. This is _nothing_ like Priya, with her odd posturing and habitually withholding of affection. With Cody, everything feels like it’s been laid flat on the table, and Pete is left struggling to figure out how the pieces fit together, even though he’s sure they’re all there. 

He’s then struck by the horrifying realization that he just made a one to one comparison between his ex-girlfriend and Cody. 

_Oh yeah,_ that voice in his head pipes up, _so, incredibly screwed._

They end up at a place called Michael’s, some diner not far from them that has a breakfast menu they serve all night. At first, Cody just gets a black coffee, but after some gentle prodding by Pete, he orders a stack of pancakes. Pete gets a burger with blue cheese and a fried egg (“Blue cheese is nasty,” Cody interjects), and a massive plate of onion rings, which Cody steals from when he thinks Pete doesn’t notice. At first, they just talk about the Unsleeping City. Pete tells Cody all about the Pixie Mafia (“Are their guns like…really tiny?” Cody asks), the fight in theater, even the insane shit that went down at the Stock Exchange. Pete cuts himself off at one point, a bit embarrassed by his rambling. 

“Dude, why the hell would I want you to stop?” Cody asks sincerely. “This is the coolest shit I’ve ever heard.”

“I forget that all this is new to you,” Pete laughs, grabbing another onion ring. “It all just feels like my own, normal life now, you know?”

“Yeah, well, in 2019 my normal life was stacking hoodies in the backroom of Hot Topic,” Cody shrugs. “Not exactly saving the soul of the city, or whatever.”

“I still wanna hear about the hoodies though,” Pete says earnestly. Cody raises an eyebrow. “Seriously! If this were a real date, we would take turns telling each other about ourselves. So…tell me about yourself.”

Cody still looks skeptical, so Pete clears the table in front of him, stacking the plates off to the side. He clears his throat, crossing his arms in front of him, and looks at Cody. 

“Cody Walsh,” he begins, and then corrects himself. “Night Angel.”

This makes Cody grin, which is all the encouragement Pete needs. 

“Pretend that I am the mall goth of your dreams, or whatever,” Pete continues. “And tell me about yourself. Just like you would on a real date.”

“Ok,” Cody finally concedes, “fine.” 

“Whenever you’re ready,” Pete prompts. Cody shoots him a look, and Pete mimes like he’s tugging a zipper shut over his mouth. 

“Alright,” Cody sighs, “uh, I was born in New Jersey. Growing up I lived with my mom and younger sister. I used to work at the Queens Center Mall. I…have a devil inside of me?”  
“Maybe don’t mention that on a first date,” Pete interjects. Cody nods.

“Right, ok,” he says. “Uh, other than the devil…I have a big sword collection, I guess. And I…have a cool roommate named Pete?”  
“Dude, why would you mention me on a first date?” Pete asks. 

“I don’t know!” Cody sighs, clearly exasperated. “I suck at talking about myself. This is stupid.”

“It’s not stupid,” Pete insists, shaking his head. “It’s important! C’mon, I wanna hear about you.”

“You as in Pete or you as in my fake date?” Cody asks. Pete hesitates slightly, wondering how far he’s supposed to run with this fiction. He _does_ wanna know more about Cody. Would that be weird to say?

“I mean…” Pete begins, shrugging his shoulders, trying to appear nonchalant. “Whichever.”

Cody nods slowly, and Pete can finally see him start to relax slightly, his shoulders dropping. Pete makes a mental note to talk to him later about cutting back on the caffeine. 

“Ok,” Cody takes a deep breath, starting again. “Uh, Jersey. I lived in Jersey for a while.”

“What was that like?” Pete asks. 

“I mean, it was fine,” Cody says, his expression thoughtful, as if he’s actually trying to recall some distant memory. “It was pretty suburban, but I’d come into the city sometimes, mostly to do dumb, touristy shit. I didn’t really mind the suburbs though.”

“I grew up in the suburbs too,” Pete says. “Upstate, actually. I kinda hated it.”

“I don’t know,” Cody shrugs, glancing out the window beside them, “I liked how everything was the same. It made it easier to not be that way.” 

Pete grins, that image of Cody swinging around plastic swords in his backyard returning to his mind. 

“Be honest,” Pete begins. “Were you a weird kid? Because I was.”

Cody laughs, clearly a bit caught off-guard. 

“Uh, yeah,” he nods, smiling at Pete over the rim of his coffee cup. “Try, like, “in-school suspension for bringing ninja stars in my backpack” weird.”  
“I once got called into the principal’s office because they’d found the graffiti I’d written in the boy’s bathroom,” Pete admits. “Had detention for a whole week.”

“What’d the graffiti say?” Cody asks. 

“The lax bros have tiny dicks,” Pete says. Cody bursts out laughing. Another couple, sitting a few booths over, shoots them a concerned look. 

“Dude, that’s awesome,” Cody says, a huge smile on his face. Pete grins back. 

“Yeah, the lax team didn’t think so,” he admits with a shrug. 

“God, my younger sister dated a lax bro for a while,” Cody shudders. “Dylan or Chad or something. Such an asshole.”

“Not everyone can be as cool as us, man,” Pete says, which just makes Cody laugh more. Their waitress comes back over at that moment to clear the table, and Cody gets another order of onion rings. Pete orders an egg cream, which makes Cody scrunch his face up in disgust. 

“Dude, those things are nasty,” Cody says once their waitress is out of earshot. 

“Kingston would shudder if he heard you say that,” Pete warns. “Seriously, egg creams are a New York classic. They’re iconic, like…I don’t know, like ticker tape parades or Yankee games.”

“What the hell is a ticker tape parade?” Cody asks. 

“You’ve never been to one?” Pete asks. “They had one for the women’s national soccer team back in 2019.”

“I was probably at the mall that day,” Cody admits with a shrug. Pete rolls his eyes. 

“Dude, I know you love the mall, but there’s so much more in the city you’ve got to experience,” Pete insists. “These parades are insane, they’ve been doing them since forever. I’m pretty sure they throw one every time something important happens.”

“Important like what?” Cody asks. 

“Like if a team wins a big game, or if someone really influential visits the city,” Pete explains. “They used to have them all the time, back when actual ticker tape was used down in FiDi.”

“How do you know so much about this stuff?” Cody asks. 

“I mean, I was there for some of them,” Pete says. “Well, not _me_ , exactly. But a version of me. A different Vox Phantasma. I’ve seen some in their memories.”

“Oh,” Cody nods, clearly surprised. “I guess I didn’t think there was anyone like you before you.”

“Yeah,” Pete nods, offering a small smile to their waitress as she drops their food off. “There were a few.”

“So, what, the old Voxes just did their thing and then passed the mantle onto you?” Cody asks. 

“Not exactly,” Pete sighs, tugging at his thumbnail, a bad habit he’d never been able to shake. “Some of them sort of just…disappeared.”

“Disappeared?” Cody repeats. 

“Yeah, like the Vox before me,” Pete glances up at him, trying to keep his expression neutral. He’s not sure how much he wants to say, how in depth he’s willing to go. “She ended up going too deep into Nod, and she didn’t come back. She just sort of…lost herself, near the end, I think.”

“Well, that’s not gonna happen to you,” Cody says. Pete raises his eyebrows, unable to hide his surprise at Cody’s tone, so matter-of-fact, as if he’s just remarking on the weather. 

“What?” Pete asks. 

“I mean, there’s no way we’d let you just disappear,” Cody insists. “Are you kidding? Fuck no.”

Pete actually laughs out loud at that. The same couple from before shoots another look their way, but Pete doesn’t even notice. 

“What makes you so sure?” He asks. 

“I’d find you,” Cody says, as if it’s the simplest thing in the world. “Or, probably Kingston would find you. Or Sofia, maybe. And then we’d all go get you.”

Pete stares at him, a lump rising in his throat. He remembers being in Nod and coming in contact that that _thing_ , feeling the size of it and realizing how easily he could’ve been swallowed up, gone just like Josefina. At the time, he’d just felt lucky to be alive, but later, he’d begun to feel this residual terror lingering in the back of his mind. Like he was still standing on the precipice, about to fall backwards off the cliff. 

“Is everything ok?” Cody asks, pausing as he raises an onion ring to his mouth. 

Pete grins, unable to help himself. He’d been imaging the fall, but he hadn’t been thinking about who would be there to catch him. Maybe Cody didn’t understand the true weight of what was happening in Nod, or whatever force they’d face in there. But, at the moment, Pete trusted him. When Cody said that he’d never let Pete disappear, he believed him. 

“Yeah,” Pete nods, “I’ll be fine.”  


They end up staying out way too late. After Michael’s, they go to a bodega so Cody can buy a pack of cigarettes, and Pete ends up getting two cartons of ice cream, which they eat with plastic spoons on a bench in a park while Cody tells Pete about his old job. 

“I’m serious, the _entire_ floor was covered in fake blood, it literally looked like the set of a horror movie,” Cody explains, recalling an incident that had taken place at Hot Topic over one Halloween weekend. “All of us were slipping, it was a fucking nightmare. You should’ve seen the looks on the faces of the parents when they brought their kids in there.”  
“As if parents aren’t already terrified enough of taking their kids into Hot Topic,” Pete interjects.

“Exactly!” Cody exclaims, which just sets the two of them off laughing again. 

It’s well past midnight before they even think to start walking back to the house, and at that point, the temperate has dropped so drastically that Pete is shivering in his bomber. The moon is huge and low overhead, so bright that it turns the whole night an eerie shade of blue. Cody doesn’t smoke, just blows hot breath into his cupped hands to try and keep them warm, and Pete walks on the curb, reaching out the steady himself on Cody’s arm whenever he feels like his balance is failing. 

“I gotta say,” Pete says as they round the corner to their street. “I really don’t think you have much to worry about.”  


“What do you mean?” Cody asks. 

“Like, in terms of going on dates or whatever,” Pete says, hopping back onto the sidewalk to walk beside Cody. “Tonight felt like a pretty successful practice round, right?”

“Uh, right,” Cody coughs slightly, pausing as they come to rest in front of the walkway leading up to their front porch. 

“Everything alright?” Pete asks, turning to face him. Cody looks down at him, and when he sighs, Pete can see a small cloud of breath form between them. 

“Yeah,” Cody nods, offering Pete a small smile. “Uh, thanks for helping me practice.”

“No problem,” Pete shrugs. When they’re standing like this, Pete is hyper-aware of the height difference between them. Cody is slouching slightly (something Pete’s noticed him doing pretty much constantly) but even with that, he’s still a solid head taller than Pete. But close. Like, _really_ close. When did Cody get so close to him?

“So, if this were a real date,” Cody finally speaks, almost making Pete jump, “we’d probably say goodnight here. Assuming the person I’m dating doesn’t also live with us.”

“Right,” Pete nods, trying to stay focused. Cody’s really pale, Pete notes, and he’s got these dark eyes, or at least they look dark in the low light of the streetlamp hanging over them. They’re pretty, Pete realizes. Cody has pretty eyes, and nice skin, and Pete hasn’t been able to stop thinking about kissing him, not since it’d happened the first time. 

_What the fuck?_ The voice in his head demands, jarring him back to reality. 

Pete swallows hard, trying to physically force his thoughts back down to earth, where Cody is his roommate and teammate and sort-of friend and not a person Pete should ever be thinking about in that way. But the thoughts keep on ballooning back up, just like they did during that fight at the Museum of Sex. Pete hasn’t been giving himself much time to focus on them, sure, but they’re always there, prodding the back of his skull. Cody with his weird swords and dumb leather jacket and illogical affinity for the mall. Cody doing something stupid and brave only because he thinks it’ll look cool. Cody pressing his lips to Pete’s, leaving Pete feeling like an unanswered question. 

“So, I guess I’ll say goodnight,” Cody murmurs. Pete feels the dread settle in his stomach like a ball of lead. “That’s what happens at the end of a date, right?”

“Huh?” Pete asks, mentally cursing his inability to be articulate. 

“I said,” Cody, somehow, takes a step even closer and Pete can feel the heat radiating from his chest. He runs really warm for a dude who kind of looks like a vampire. “That’s what happens at the end of a date, right?”

Pete glances up at Cody, and he _wants_ to, he really, desperately wants to. And it scares the _shit_ out of him. 

“Yeah, uh, goodnight!” Pete exclaims, his voice sounding unnaturally loud. He takes a step back, almost tripping over his own feet. “So, uh, great! Cool. Good! I’m going to go to bed. Goodnight! Again!”

With that, Pete is practically running into the house, not even bothering to see if Cody is following him. He doesn’t let himself relax until he’s back up in the attic, with the door shut behind him. Then, Pete collapses onto his bed and stuffs a pillow over his face. With no prompting, Luna slinks her way out of Pete’s sleeve. 

“What are you doing?” Pete murmurs, his voice muffled by the pillow. Luna, of course, says nothing, and nuzzles up against Pete’s face, her wings cool to the touch. Pete sighs and resigns to letting himself be comforted by his familiar. 

When Pete wakes up the next morning, still in his clothes from the night before, there are two texts waiting for him on this phone. One is to the groupchat, from Kingston, inviting everyone to a New Year’s Eve party at his place on Friday. The other, sent just to him, is only four words from Sofia. 

> **SOFIA LEE:** _We need to talk._


	5. Chapter Five

Pete spends the next few days avoiding Cody, which isn’t easy, considering the fact that they live in the same house. At first, he skips out on the Gramercy Occult Society meeting everyone is meant to go to that afternoon, complaining about a bad headache he just needs to sleep off. Then, Pete starts waking up extra early for work, sneaking out before any of his housemates rouse themselves. Josh actually spots him one morning, and gives him a quick wave from the kitchen, which Pete half-heartedly returns, slinking out the door before anyone else catches him. When Zee notices him volunteering for longer and longer shifts at the bookstore, they don’t say anything, but Pete still notices them casting a few concerned looks his way, which he pointedly ignores. For a few days, everything is quiet. No imps appear in his bedroom, no parts of the city need saving. He never even runs into Cody on the porch. For a while, he can just pretend like everything is normal. 

Then, one evening, as he’s locking up the bookstore, someone clears their throat pointedly behind him. When Pete turns around he’s shocked to see Sofia, her arms crossed tightly in front of her chest, tapping her foot against the pavement. 

“Sofia!” Pete exclaims, almost dropping the set of keys in his hand. 

“C’mon,” she motions with her head, not even giving Pete time to react. “Let’s get a coffee.” 

There aren’t that many places open late that don’t serve alcohol, so they end up walking across the park to a little bakery, back near Columbia. The walk is _excruciating_. Pete keeps on trying to make small talk, but every time he starts to comment on the weather Sofia just shoots him this look that shuts him up right away. It’s not until they’re seated that Sofia finally speaks. 

“So,” she begins, stirring some sugar into her coffee, “how come you’ve been ignoring my text?”

Pete can practically feel his phone burning a hole in his pocket. Sofia’s right, he has been ignoring her message. Just one of the many things in his life he’s been refusing to acknowledge. 

“Uh,” he begins, wrapping his hands tightly around the mug of hot cider in front of him, “I’ve been really busy.”

“Busy my ass,” Sofia scoffs. “Pete, you’ve known me long enough to know I’m a lot of things, but stupid ain’t one of them.” 

Pete rubs the back of his neck, clearly embarrassed. Sofia’s expression softens slightly. 

“Look,” she reaches across the table and lays a hand on Pete’s forearm. “I’m not gonna interrogate you, or anything like that, but something tells me you’d stop sulking around so goddamn much if you just got whatever is bothering you off your chest. So,” Sofia leans back, crossing her arms again. “What happened between you and Cody?”  
Pete sighs, leaning back in his chair. 

“Nothing,” he shakes his head. “Nothing happened.”

“But…” Sofia trails off, her eyebrows creeping up towards her bangs. “You _wanted_ something to happen?”

“No!” Pete insists. “Or…I don’t know! Maybe?” 

“You don’t know?” Sofia asks. Pete groans, pressing his hands firmly over his eyes. 

“I guess something did sort of happen. And then almost happened again,” Pete finally says, glancing up at Sofia again. “But it didn’t mean anything. It _doesn’t_ mean anything.”

“Now I’m the one who’s confused,” Sofia frowns. 

“Look, it doesn’t actually matter,” Pete insists, “because nothing would ever come of it.”

“Why not?” Sofia asks. 

“Why not?” Pete repeats. “Because…well, because he’s my friend.”

“Well I’d hope so,” Sofia snorts. “Wouldn’t make much sense if he wasn’t.”

“No, what I mean is…” Pete trails off, trying to find the words. “What I mean is that this whole thing started because I was trying to do the right thing, you know? I was trying to be helpful and I can’t even manage to do that without fucking everything up.”

“Pete,” Sofia frowns, “I’m sure you haven’t fucked anything up. You’re being too hard on yourself.” 

Pete doesn’t say anything, just takes a sip from his mug. A gaggle of students walks by the bakery window, and Pete watches them as they pass, hearing their muffled laughter through the glass. Across the street, he can see the massive cathedral, the shadows of the saints carved in the facade casting long shadows down onto the steps below. The sun has long since sunk beneath the horizon, and everything outside has turned this deep shade of navy blue, like the whole world is underwater. It almost looks like a dream. 

“I guess…” Pete mutters, his gaze still focused outside. “I guess I just don’t have the best track record with stuff like this. So maybe it’s just not worth the risk, if the most likely conclusion is me screwing it up.” 

There’s a pause. Out of the corner of his eye, Pete can see Sofia fiddle around with the wedding band on her finger. 

“You know the first time Dale proposed to me I said no,” Sofia says. Pete turns to stare at her, his shock evident. 

“What?” He asks. 

“I know, it’s surprising!” Sofia laughs. “But it’s true. He brought me to this nice restaurant, and then afterwards, we went and sat in a park. It was spring, so all the trees were blooming. God, it was so beautiful, everything was just perfect. Then, he got down on one knee and asked the question. And I said no.”

“Why?” Pete asks. 

“Well, I wanted to say yes. Of course I did. But I’d gotten this horrible idea in my head.” Sofia sighs, glancing down at her mug. “I’d started to think he was making a mistake, being with me and all. There was a part of me that honestly thought he’d give me that ring and then, a week later, he’d wanna take it right back. Like, he’d come to his senses and realize how difficult I was to be with, how hard I was to love, and he’d wanna leave.”

Sofia looks back up at Pete, a sad smile on her face. 

“You know what he said when I told him that?” Sofia asks. Pete shakes his head, and Sofia smiles, her eyes going wet with tears. “He said, ‘Sofia Bikes, you’re the easiest person in the world to love, but even if you weren’t, I’d work my ass off everyday if it meant getting to be with you.’”

Pete grins despite himself, and Sofia laughs, wiping a stray tear from her eye. 

“I’m not gonna pretend to know what’s going on in that head of yours,” Sofia continues, “but I do know how similar we are.” 

Sofia reaches across the table again and takes Pete’s hand, squeezing it lightly. 

“Pete Conlan, you’re so easy to love, but even if you weren’t, you deserve to be with someone who wants to work their ass of to be with you,” Sofia says.

Pete can feel the sting of tears behind his eyes and he clears his throat, staring down at the table between them.

“Thanks, Sofia,” Pete murmurs. 

“Look, it doesn’t really matter what did or didn’t happen,” Sofia says. “What matters is that you’re taking care of yourself before anyone else. The only reasons I was hounding you so much is because I gotta make sure you’re looking out for your heart.”

She grins, something mischievous entering her expression. 

“But that being said, if there _is_ anything you wanna chat about…”

“We kissed!” Pete blurts out, so loud that the people at the table beside them look over in surprise. Sofia gasps, clapping her hands over her mouth.

“You did _what_?” She demands. 

Pete tells her everything. Sofia was right, it does feel good to get it off his chest. By the end of the conversation, Sofia has ordered two slices of cake to their table, and she hanging onto every detail with a rapt expression on her face. 

“Pete, I hate to break it you,” she interrupts at one point, “but there’s no such thing as ‘practice dates.’ You definitely just made that up.”

Pete protests, even though he knows she’s right. When he ends by telling her he hasn’t actually spoken to Cody for the better part of a week, Sofia frowns, a troubled expression on her face. 

“So, what now?” She asks.

“Now?” Pete laughs. “Now I hope he just forgets anything ever happened.”

“Pete, I hate to say it,” Sofia points at him with her fork, “but I think you might actually need to talk to Cody before you go assuming anyone is gonna ‘just forget’ about anything. Cody can be a bit of a shit-head, sure, but he’s not _that_ much of an idiot. I’m sure he knows something is wrong.” 

“Well, I know whatever is going on, it’s one sided,” Pete sighs. “He already told me he’s into someone.”

Sofia stares at him, with an expression on her face that Pete can only describe as dumb-founded. Then, to his surprise, she laughs. 

“Just talk to him.” Sofia insists, tugging her jacket on. “Trust me on this. Now, I’ve got a ferry to catch. You good to get home?”

“Yeah, I’m good,” Pete nods. “See you at Kingston’s tomorrow night?”

“Wouldn’t miss it,” Sofia assures with a wink. “I got a good feeling about the new year.” 

Pete spends about an hour the next night just staring at himself in the mirror before he finally works up the nerve to leave the house and head to Kingston’s place. Luna is flitting around his head nervously while he tries for the millionth time to get his bowtie to look half-way decent but he ends up just leaving it untied, in a way he hopes looks purposeful. Kingston told them all to dress up, which means Pete is wearing a blue velvet suit jacket and a pair of actual dress pants. He thought for a bit about trying to find Cody before the party, maybe have The Conversation in their own home, but that thought was abandoned about an hour ago, somewhere between Pete panicking over which shoes to wear and freaking out over whether or not he should be bringing a gift. He ends up grabbing a bottle of wine at a grocery store on the way, and picking up some dog treats for Bruce. 

Now, he’s standing outside of Kingston’s door, trying to calm his heart-rate down to a reasonable pace. 

“Pete?” A voice calls from the sidewalk. Pete turns around to see Ricky and Esther heading up the steps of the brownstone, hand in hand. 

“Oh, hey guys,” Pete tries for a smile. 

“What you doing waiting out here?” Esther asks.

“Just, uh, appreciating the door,” Pete says. Esther raises an eyebrow but Ricky turns to look at the door, a serious expression on his face. 

“I guess it is a pretty nice door,” he says. Esther smiles up at him, a look of pure contentment on her face. It makes Pete’s stomach clench. 

“C’mon, we should head upstairs,” Esther says, ringing the doorbell. The three of them get buzzed in, and Pete trails behind them all the way up the stairs, working hard to keep his breathing steady. Liz opens the door for them once they arrive, wrapping them each in a tight hug and inviting them all inside. 

The whole apartment is packed. Pete catches sight of Kingston immediately, by a table filled with food, talking with JJ. He gives Pete an enthusiastic wave, beckoning him over. Pete can hear jazz music coming from the record player perched on a table in the living room, and the whole apartment smells like cloves and oranges. 

“Pete, good to see you,” Kingston greets, wrapping him in a quick hug. 

“Hey Kingston,” Pete smiles, nodding to JJ as well. “Hey, man.”

“Hey!” JJ grins. “Kingston was just telling me how you guys spent your New Year’s Eve a few years ago.”

“Yes, tonight is shaping up to be much calmer than that,” Kingston grins at Pete. 

“I, uh, brought these.” Pete holds up the bottle of wine and dog treats. Kingston laughs. 

“Oh man, Bruce is gonna love these,” he says, and then whistles lowly. Bruce comes bounding out of the kitchen, his tongue lolling out. “Thank you, Pete. This is very kind of you.”

“Of course,” Pete shrugs. “Thanks for having us.”

“Hey, you know you’re always welcome here,” Kingston says, holding up the bottle of wine. “I’ll go track down an opener for this.” 

Pete nods, and JJ heads off as well, mentioning that he promised Esther he’d talk shop with her for a bit. Esther, for her part, is already embroiled in a deep conversation with Madame Anastasia and her daughter over on the couch. Pete spots Sofia as well, perched by the window, chatting with Ricky. Pete catches her eye and she shoots him a smile and a thumbs-up. When Pete furrows his brow, clearly confused, Sofia rolls her eyes and points down the hallway, towards the bedrooms. 

_Fire escape,_ Pete sees her mouth. Pete’s eyes widen, turning to look down the hallway. Before he can let himself think too much, he heads towards Kingston’s bedroom. 

The door is cracked open slightly, and Pete can feel the cold air wafting from inside. Slowly, he opens the door. The room is mostly dark, only lit by some candles he’s sure Liz has placed around for decoration and, sure enough, silhouetted in the window, is Cody. Pete takes a deep breath, and at that moment, Cody turns around, startled by the sound of the door. 

“Oh,” he says, though Pete can barely hear him from all the way across the room. “Hey.”

Pete heads towards the window, lofting himself out onto the fire escape. Cody is seated on the steps above, his legs spread out, and he has a cigarette tucked between his fingers.

“Hey,” Pete greets once he’s safely outside, one hand resting on the railing beside him. It’s snowing lightly, and Pete can see small groups of people moving from party to party on the street below. The whole neighborhood is lit up.

“Kingston told me-” Cody begins. 

“That you couldn’t smoke in there?” Pete finishes with a small smile. “Yeah, I figured.” 

Cody nods, taking a final drag before setting the mostly finished cigarette down and stamping it out with his foot. It’s pretty dark, but after a moment of Pete’s eyes adjusting, he realizes Cody isn’t actually wearing black. His suit is a dark maroon, and it’s nice, not the type of thing Pete would expect him to have just hanging around in his closet. 

“I like your suit,” Pete offers. Cody glances down at it, as if he’s surprised Pete noticed it. 

“Oh, thanks,” he murmurs. “Sofia helped me pick it out.”  
“She did?” Pete asks, surprised. 

“Yeah,” Cody shrugs. “She told me I need to, quote, stop dressing like I still work at that weird scary store in the mall all the time, unquote.”

Pete laughs, and Cody smiles as well, small but encouraging. It makes Pete’s stomach swoop down to his shoes. 

“I thought…” Cody begins, but he trails off, shaking his head. 

“What?” Pete asks. 

“I thought you were mad at me, or something,” Cody mutters. “And that’s why you were avoiding me.”

Pete instantly feels awful, though he knows that wasn’t Cody’s intention. 

“Cody, I wasn’t mad at you,” Pete says. “I’m really sorry I made you feel like I was, that was really immature of me to do.”

Cody glances up at him, his expression wary. 

“But you have been avoiding me?” He asks. 

“Cody, look-” Pete begins, but Cody holds up a hand, and Pete goes silent.

“It’s cool, I get it,” Cody shrugs, standing up from the steps. “You don’t need to explain yourself.”  
“No, trust me, I _really_ do,” Pete begins. 

“No, you don’t!” Cody exclaims, and Pete steps back in surprise. “We can just pretend like nothing ever happened, ok?”

“Is that what you want?” Pete asks, his voice quiet. Cody doesn’t say anything for a moment, just looks at him, his eyes huge. Down on the street below, Pete can hear a crowd of people pass, cheering and blowing on noisemakers. He doesn’t know exactly what time it is, but he knows midnight isn’t too far away. 

“Why did you kiss me?” Cody asks, his voice so small Pete can barely hear him, despite how close they are. Pete stares at him, shocked. 

“I-” He starts, but Cody cuts him off. 

“Did you just do it because you felt bad for me? Is that it?” He asks. 

“No!” Pete insists. “I thought… I thought I was doing the _right_ thing, but now-”

“Now you think it was a mistake, right?” Cody shakes his head, and then lets out a sharp laugh, which hits Pete like a bullet to the chest. 

“I do _not_ think it was a mistake,” Pete protests. “Look, what happened the other night…I was scared, alright?”

“Scared?” Cody asks. 

“Yes!” Pete laughs despite himself. “I have literally _died_ before, and I was still scared shitless!”

“Scared of what?” Cody demands, his expression suddenly becoming guarded. 

“Scared of messing things up,” Pete sighs. “I sort of have a knack for doing that.”

“What are you talking about?” 

Pete looks up at Cody. The snow is still falling softly, and all the noise on the street below had calmed down, so it feels like its just the two of them, like the whole world has paused around them. 

“You’re my friend, Cody, and I didn’t wanna fuck that up,” Pete murmurs. “Not if we didn’t want the same thing.”

Pete can practically _feel_ Cody’s breath hitch. Time has slowed to a crawl. 

“What do you want, Pete?” Cody asks. All of the breath seems to leave Pete’s body at once. 

“I really, _really_ wanna kiss you again,” Pete says, his voice barely above a whisper. Cody’s eyes widen. 

“You-” Cody begins, but then stops short, panic rising in his voice. “I can’t do that, ok? I know you just wanna be friends, but I can’t do that and still just be your friend.”

“I don’t…what?” Pete asks. 

“I like you Pete!” Cody exclaims, running a hand through his hair in frustration. “The person that I’m into is _you,_ and…I want more from you than you can give me.”

“Cody-” Pete begins, but Cody interrupts him, his expression frantic. 

“Because I know I can be difficult sometimes-”

“Yes, you can!” Pete blurts out. Cody freezes, and Pete reaches up, cupping his face in his hands. “You can be difficult, and stubborn, and insanely stupid in fights, but you’re brave, and you care about me and our friends and I _like_ you, I like your weird swords and the fact that you think magic is cool and the way you said you’d come find me if I ever disappeared, because I _know_ that you would.”

Cody stares down at Pete, still in shock. For a moment, they stay like that, Pete’s hands framing his face, and then Cody frowns. 

“My swords aren’t weird,” he murmurs. 

“Oh my God, shut up,” Pete says, and closes the gap between them. Cody responds immediately, wrapping his arms tight around Pete’s waist and pulling him in close. This time, when Cody tilts his head and takes Pete’s lower lip in between his teeth, Pete doesn’t hesitate to reach up and tangle his hands in his hair. Distantly, Pete can hear some commotion coming from the street below, and inside, he hears the distinct sound a bottle of champagne being popped, but he barely pays it any mind, he’s so focused on getting Cody as close to him at possible. Without even meaning to, Pete smiles into the kiss. There’s a warmth blossoming in the base of his stomach, and it stretches its way out, all the way to the tips of his fingers, and when Cody makes a small noise in the back of throat, Pete can feel it _expand_ , shooting upwards into the air. 

When they finally separate, it takes a moment for Pete to realize that the air has changed. It’s not as cold, and when Pete looks up, it’s not snow that’s swirling in the air.

“Holy shit,” he murmurs. Cody looks at him, then up towards the sky. 

“What is that?” He asks. 

“It’s ticker tape,” Pete says. Sure enough, swirling around them are hundreds of tiny scraps of paper. Pete glances down to the street and is a bit horrified to discover it’s not just happening around then. The entire neighborhood is covered in the stuff, and more continues to fall down from the sky. 

“Did you do that?” Cody asks, his expression mystified. 

“I think so,” Pete nods. Cody looks back at him, a bemused smile on his face. 

“That’s so sick,” he breathes. Pete laughs, unable to stop himself. Off in the distance, fireworks begin to erupt. 

It’s a few more minutes before they return to the party. Everyone is so focused on the sudden appearance of the ticker tape falling from the sky, seemingly out of nowhere, that no one pays them any mind, and at the back of the room, while everyone else is crowded by the windows, Pete slips his hand into Cody’s grasp and watches him smile. 


	6. Epilogue

Pete wakes up on New Year’s Day with a strange weight on his chest, and for a moment, he’s terrified that the imp has returned. Slowly, he cracks open his eyes, blinking against the bright sunlight that has flooded his room, and looks down to find that it’s only Cody, sprawled across his chest, still sound asleep. 

“Dude,” Pete mutters, shoving him slightly, “you’re crushing me.”

“Hm,” Cody murmurs, scrunching his face up, clearly reluctant to wake up. Pete sighs, poking him lightly on the cheek. Cody cracks one eye open, glaring at him. “It’s too early.”

“It’s past noon,” Pete points out, motioning with his chin towards his bedside clock. Cody sighs, rolling over slightly so all of his weight isn’t on Pete’s chest anymore. “Who knew you’d be such an octopus?” Pete teases, unable to keep the grin off of his face. 

“Shut up,” Cody sneers, but at the same moment, he repositions himself so he can fling an arm across Pete’s chest, tugging him closer. Pete laughs, turning so he can face Cody. 

“We’re gonna have to get up at some point,” Pete says, brushing some of the hair out of Cody’s face. Cody opens his eyes fully now, staring at him.

“So, do you want me to leave?” He asks. Pete rolls his eyes, and Cody grins. 

“No,” Pete concedes. “But if there’s some sudden, magical emergency that we’re late for, I’m blaming you.”

“I can live with that,” Cody shrugs. Pete glances up through his window, catching sight of the world outside. Everything is sharp and bright, the snow piled high on front yards and unplowed sidewalks, and the sun sits high in the cloudless sky. Winter is far from over, but today the world looks warm and inviting, like the first days of spring. Cody looks towards him, a curious expression on his face. “What are you looking at?”

Pete glances back at him. Underneath everything, Pete can still feel that same unease, creeping into the back of his mind. There is danger is Nod, that much he’s sure of, and danger in Nod means danger in the city, eventually. He isn’t sure what the next few weeks, let alone months, will hold. He is not even sure how the spring will look when it arrives. Then, without a word, Cody leans up and kisses him, soft and unexpected. Pete grins, bringing up a hand and pressing it against Cody’s cheek. 

“You alright?” Cody asks when he pulls back. Pete rubs his thumb against Cody’s cheekbone in a small, repetitive motion. He can feel the sun warming his shoulders, and a million things come to mind: the memory of Josefina wandering around her massive empty home, his old apartment, the way he felt when he first did magic, the way he felt when he was one week clean, the thing in Nod, the feeling of falling, and then, after it all, the feeling of being caught, the world suddenly made tangible again. 

At that moment, Pete can hear the sound of two phones buzzing, his and Cody’s, going off at the same time. A message to the groupchat, probably. Cody looks back at him.

“Yeah,” Pete nods, smiling. “We’re gonna be fine.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the love ive received for this fic has seriously blown me away, so thank u all <3


End file.
